The 50th Anniversary Logo

In the National Library Reference Room on the second floor of the National Library of Canada/National Archives of Canada building is one of two murals by Quebec artist Alfred Pellan. These murals were commissioned to illustrate the objectives and concerns of a national library and are part of the building's intrinsic design. In the mural entitled Knowledge on the east wall, outlined pictorial symbols of some of the subject areas covered by the writings of the sciences and the humanities surround a stylized representation of a face seen as a book held by a figure in the pursuit of knowledge. Knowledge is represented as a vast array of jigsaw puzzle pieces, each separate and unique yet forming a unified whole. Over the years, the stylized face has been reproduced in various National Library publications, and this distinctive logo is recognized throughout the Canadian library and information community.